We are looking for an enthusiastic candidate for one PhD position in astroparticle physics at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The successful candidate will be embedded in the GRAPPA Center of excellence in Gravitation and Astroparticle Physics, a multidisciplinary team of researchers active in a variety of research topics including neutrinos, dark matter, high-energy astrophysics, physics beyond the standard model, and gravitation.  The position is expected to start by Fall 2022.

What are you going to do?

You are expected to:

• be active in the theoretical research on astroparticle physics and multi-messenger astrophysics focusing on gamma rays and neutrinos, publishing in high level international journals, presenting at leading conferences and helping supervise Bachelor and Master students;
• be open to collaborations with other institutes (Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy and Nikhef Institute for Subatomic Physics);
• engage in teaching physics courses as a teaching assistant.

What do we require?

The successful candidate should:

• have a Master’s degree in physics or equivalent (expected to be received by fall 2022);
• excel academically, as indicated by grade transcript and curriculum vitae;
• wish to pursue an academic career;
• be fluent in spoken and written English;
• have the ability and willingness to work in a collaborative team including junior students;
• have an interest in sharing science with the wider non-scientist community.

Our offer

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of four years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of four years). This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and Master students.

The salary, depending on relevant experience before the beginning of the employment contract, will be €2,443 to €3,122 (scale P) gross per month, based on a fulltime contract (38 hours a week). This is exclusive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Take a look here.

University of Amsterdam

With over 6,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The center of excellence in Gravitation and Astroparticle Physics (GRAPPA) is connected to the Institute of Physics and then Anton Pannekoek Institute at the University of Amsterdam as well as Nikhef. GRAPPA researchers have wide research interests, including dark matter phenomenology, cosmic rays, high-energy astrophysics, cosmology, black holes physics, gravitational waves, and string theory. It also includes experimental physicists active in the Antares/KM3NeT, ATLAS, CTA, LOFAR, Virgo, and XENON1T collaborations.